Harrison Akpeyi panted restlessly as he flashed his face from one side of the road to another. Scanning the entire landscape as fast as his energy could accommodate, he pushed further into the busy road, hoping to find a clue that would eventually lead him to the ‘hidden treasure’. A regular visitor to Ikeja, the capital of Lagos, he never knew the area held the key to the happiness he had long sought.
Thirty four and averagely built, the Delta State indigene has not particularly enjoyed most of his youth. His experience with the ladies has been quite regrettable. Though a committed lover and caring companion, his ‘good’ heart has not been enough to tie down the women that have come his way in recent years. One after another, the ladies have walked out on him after discovering his worst-kept secret.
“The problem usually starts when it gets to the level of sex,” the young entrepreneur says. “The moment the ladies see the size of my penis, they completely disconnect,” he continues. “No matter how much I try to show that my size is not a barrier and that I can still make them happy, they don’t show that initial excitement anymore. In a matter of weeks, everything ends.
“The ones who have the courage tell me that my manhood is too small and that I can never bring them happiness in the bedroom while others simply walk out on me without giving any concrete reason. It has become a bit of embarrassment for me; that is why I am seeking help,” he told our correspondent whom he mistook for a body enhancement artist while searching for an address a friend referred him to earlier in the week.
With the address in his hands matching the location where he came across our correspondent, Akpeyi disappeared into one of the many shops within Centage Trade Centre, Ikeja, after making a quick phone call to a man.
Littered with dozens of small shops across two floors, the massive complex like the scores around it is where tens of body modification of various forms take place every day within this sprawling Lagos suburb. From tattoos, pink lips, breast, hip, bum and penis enlargement to vagina tightening, it is where men and women obsessed with the look of their bodies are ‘recreated’.
Driven by curiosity, our correspondent traced Akpeyi into one of the shops on the first floor where two young men were interacting with him in something that appeared more like a lecture. Five minutes later, the 34-year-old and one of the guys who would later introduce himself as Anthony Idara, walked into a smaller and darker room stuffed with different bags and a small wooden table with foam pieces on it. Away from the prying eyes of others, the two remained in the place for over 40 minutes, discussing and giggling before finally emerging from the inner chambers.
“Bros, in the next one to two weeks, you go call and thank me very well after you confirm the levels,” Idara said boastfully in Pidgin English as he led his latest client back into the shop before handing him a small nylon bag containing pills and a special cream.
Armed with the items and the assurance of a ‘highly improved’ manhood following the special therapy session that saw a device being plugged to his penis for several minutes, the Delta native strolled out of the tiny shop like a man who had just been liberated from years in captivity. All over his face, the excitement and optimism was raw.
“The guys told me that in two to three weeks, I would see the result I want,” he said with a tinge of smile as he made for the stairs opposite the shop. “I cannot wait to see my size grow. The friend who directed me to this place once did this and he told me how much his life and relationships have improved. It is the same thing I want, to experience a new life of happiness and confidence. I cannot wait,” he said as he went out of the view of the reporter.
While still trying to get Idara’s attention for a brief chat on how their trade runs, two other young men walked into the shop separately within a space of three minutes. Looking forlorn and desperately in need of a way out, it is easy to see the trouble they have been through from the paleness on their faces. In turns, they were ushered into the inner room like Akpeyi to undergo the special therapy that promises to transform their lives. And after around one hour in the ‘theatre’ each, like the many others before them, they sauntered out of the place wearing a new garment of confidence.
“Baba, if this thing work well as you tell me, na me go dey bring better customers come give you,” the first man could be heard saying to the shop owner quietly as he headed towards the stairs. He was drenched in excitement.
The second man who emerged from the place minutes later, calmly walked away without uttering a word or requiring any reassuring comment from Idara and his colleague. For him, the future must come quickly.
Across the vast complex, the situation is almost the same – minute after minute – young men of different ages and backgrounds stream into the place for a taste of their own salvation. While some are visiting the area for the first time, others who had previously undergone the process and had come back for the special creams and pills after being impressed, ensure these tiny shops and their owners never run out of customers.
Bright Otovo was all smiles when our correspondent came across him while purchasing one of the creams used to enhance his penis size. About two years ago, he opted to increase the size of his manhood as according to him he wasn’t getting due respect from ladies. Several months since that time, Otovo sings a different tune today.
“There is no lady I sleep with these days that doesn’t commend the size of my penis,” the young man said boastfully as he recounted what the experience has been like during a friendly chat with our correspondent. “In fact, the one I slept with about three days ago has been calling to ask when we can have a good time together again. She told me she enjoyed it and wants it again.
“I did the enlargement here in Ikeja before travelling to Ivory Coast where I became very popular among ladies. Over there, you have more women than men and they love men with large penis who can make love to them very well. There is nothing you ask them that they won’t give you if they have. A lady I was sleeping with rented an apartment for me and also helped me get a good job. I stayed in Ivory Coast for about one year and six months and only returned to Nigeria last December.
“Enlarging my penis has been like a blessing for me. But since I returned to Nigeria, I have been more careful on how I relate with ladies. Most of the women who have tasted my manhood have asked for more,” he said.
While his ‘newly improved’ penis has opened doors for him, in rare cases, the ‘asset’ has also created barriers in like manner.
“There was a day I was very horny and approached a prostitute at a brothel. Immediately I removed my pants and she saw my size, she refused and said that she would only agree to do anything with me if I added an extra N1000. Though we didn’t eventually do anything together that night, I left the brothel with a lot of pride. My new size always makes me confident,” he said, before gulping the entire content of a chilled beverage drink in his right hand.
Though not a completely new phenomenon, the craze for penis enlargement among Nigeria’s young male population appears to have suddenly surged in recent times, especially over the last three years since the rise of the social media and affordable mobile internet. Apart from posting photographs of their massive endowments labelled ‘egg plant’, a lot of young men, especially celebrities, tend to impress and seduce ladies with their large ‘assets’. In a bid to partake in the frenzy and also wow the females, dozens of young males, bitten by the bug, have flocked similar complexes like Centage across most parts of the country for such ‘reinvention’, leaving smart guys like Idara laughing all the way to the bank.
According to findings by Saturday PUNCH, having the size of your penis enlarged through the process used in these tiny shops in Ikeja and similar centres doesn’t come cheap. For example, the cream and pills given alone cost between N15, 000 and N25, 000 while the operators charge between N50, 000 and N120, 000 for their own service and expertise. Persons needing home service would have to pay double that amount as such would be considered a special treatment.
At the beginning of the entire process that could run into several weeks depending on the skin and body system of the individual using the products, the massager is first plugged to the penis for a little over 30 minutes. Thereafter, the cream is applied very well on the organ while some of the pills whose dosage would be determined by the operator, are taken shortly before bedtime when the body would be in a relaxed state. Subsequently, the cream can be applied as many times as the client wishes in a day and may stop once the desired size is achieved. Result, according to those in the business, depends solely on the skin and body of each individual.
“Everything depends on the skin and system of the person who desires the enlargement,” Idara said. “There are instances when I check the person’s body and see that his skin is tough, they will have to pay higher than the N80, 000 that I charge for my service because such a case would be more difficult to handle. In fact, those who call me for home service pay double the normal amount because it is not easy for me to abandon other customers and go to spend almost the whole day with them.
“But there is no client that I have handled that doesn’t call me back to give testimony. In fact, many of them refer a lot of their friends to us after patronising and seeing what we have done for them.
“Apart from enlargement, we also help customers who have big penis to reduce it to the size of their choice. Some of these guys go to Hausa people who use herbs to make the penis bigger and soon it becomes a problem for them because the unusually big size mostly prevents them from making love to a woman. They come to us for help and we assist them,” he said.
Apart from the massager, cream and pills many of the guys in the business use on their clients, there are also other methods of penis enlargement available in these tiny shops that litter dozens of the shopping complexes around Ikeja Under Bridge area of Lagos.
According to Justice Okwu, another young man in the business, there is the injection and surgery option which guarantees superb results but with a little price to pay.
“There are some people who want instant result. For such people, we tell them about the injection and surgery option. But then, we make it clear to them that those two have side effects. On rare cases, we use injection for those who want instant result even though we let them know the dangers.
“The injection weakens the male organ to the extent that even before you get to 40, your veins may no longer be able to stretch. The surgery is also a very complicated and delicate process. We explain all of these to clients but when they insist, we simply tell them to look elsewhere if they don’t want the safe method we recommend for them. We deal with every customer according to their needs,” he said.
With no formal training beyond the three to four-week tutelage they occasionally get from makers of these organ enhancement products, many of the guys in the business have continued to ply their trade without any form of regulation or hindrance, raking in mega bucks from desperate young men like Akpeyi who would go any length to acquire bigger ‘rods’ to impress and keep the ladies who come their ways.
“We have people who come in here from time to time to teach us the new trends in body enhancement. The training usually takes around three weeks and it is through these people that we get all the kits, creams and pills that we use on clients. It is usually a detailed practical session and now we are using that skill to help many men,” Okwu said.
Reassuring as the methods of these local body modification artists seem, a medical doctor, Michael Daniso, says patronising uncertified persons to perform such a delicate task on a sensitive organ such as the penis is not only dangerous but suicidal.
“I don’t see any reason why anybody should subject himself to such risk by going to enlarge penis in a tiny shop where persons who have no proper training and certification operate. It is too dangerous.
“For example, the pills and all the other items they give are filled with unregulated ingredients that are very harmful to the skin and capable of damaging the veins on the penis itself. If anyone desires a bigger manhood, I think the first thing to do is to speak to a doctor and not just go straight to use any item or patronise uncertified persons,” he said.
Professor of psychology, Oni Fagboungbe, blames the rising trend of penis enlargement among many young men on the effects of a sub-culture acquired through interaction with other cultures.
He said the rise of the social media and Internet has further helped fuel a lot of bizarre behaviour including the craze for body modification.
“Usually sex has to do with man’s dominance over women, therefore in a situation whereby the man feels that he is not able to show his dominance through performance, he starts looking for ways out of it. Some would resort into taking drugs and where it doesn’t work, they look for the next solution.
“The Internet is the source of the latest aggravation of this disturbing trend. In our days, there could be a trend that had been operating in the urban centres but we never got to know about it until maybe during Christmas and New Year celebrations when a lot of people from the city travelled to the village for holidays. But today with the Internet and social media, things can be seen simultaneously anywhere in the world as they happen. People don’t bother to ask questions, they just copy and imbibe everything they see online. This is the danger,” he said.
It is not uncommon these days to find dozens of adverts promoting male organ enlargement jostle for space on different news websites and other serious platforms on the Internet. The adverts often feature testimonies of men whose wife almost left them because their penises were too small and couldn’t give any satisfaction but later became champions after undergoing organ enlargement. In some cases, viewers are shown raunchy photographs of women who would pay any amount for male with huge ‘rods’ who can drive them wild. The adverts come in different forms, luring scores of young men to embrace the rising trend every day.
Those unable to afford the high cost of the service offered by the likes of Idara, embrace all sorts of herbal remedies and cheap enlargement pumps sold across most neighbourhoods in the country.
But a sex and relationship expert, Adaeze Ebuka, explains that the size of the penis doesn’t necessary determine how much satisfaction a man can give a woman in the bedroom.
“What a lot of people don’t know is that satisfying a woman in bed is not all about the size of the penis.
“I am aware that some women love it big because the hugeness drives them crazy; overall, it is the tenacity and creative usage of the penis by the man that delivers satisfaction. There are so many other things a man can do to make his woman happy on bed no matter the size of his organ. But rushing for penis enlargement is by no means the answer to happiness in any relationship,” she said.
A cross section of young women whom our correspondent engaged, gave different responses when confronted with the subject. While a handful said they had no problem with an average-sized penis, more than a few told Saturday PUNCH that they always love it big.
“What would I be doing with a guy who cannot fill me up?” one lady asked quietly while biting her lips and staring our correspondent straight in the eyes. “I enjoy it more when I can feel the size inside of me,” she added.
Many ladies in this category gave similar responses – its either a ‘biggie’ or nothing.
Though no known statistics on the number of penis enlargement that occurs in Nigeria annually, in Ikeja alone it is believed that dozens take place each week while in other places the craze for such enhancement remains rife.
-Source: PUNCH
